Woods
It actually snowed yesterday morning. It melted away by late afternoon, but it was foggy and wet all day. It is much warmer this morning, and still a bit foggy. The sun is out now and all the fog is gone. / This is the view looking south off our deck. The mountain laurels should bloom in the next three or four weeks, and by mid May, there are literally hundreds of pink lady’s slippers (Cypripedium acule) that return year after year.
Bartlett Fishrod Factory Dam
It rained really hard last night, and I thought it would be a good time to start to document the old dam on Amethyst Brook in Pelham. There is some talk about removing it to allow the river to revert to its original course. It was built almost 200 years ago, and the small lake above the dam used to be a popular swimming spot for the locals. When we first moved to the area, it seemed sad that it no longer filled this purpose. Years ago the state declared it unsafe, and in 2008, the state Office of Dam Safety declared it “structurally deficient”, and the current owners were forced to either repair or remove it. Lots of dough involved here, and several local and national pro rivers organizations are trying to raise the money needed to start the demolition. I hated the idea at first (destruction of a cool old structure), but after reading an article in the Amherst Bulletin, it seems to make a sense in terms of restoring the river to its original state. It’ll be fun to watch what happens.
Crocus
This year the crocus seems to have multiplied a bit. I am always amazed that these guys pop up through the pine needles, leaves, sticks and assorted detritus of Winter. / I haven’t posted for a long time. (See previous post referring to the “posting/karma congestion ratio”.) The end of the Winter has been difficult in some ways, and the bleakness of that season had carried on into Spring. Seeing these flowers come back year after year is a terrifically reassuring occurrence, and one that ushers in a more hopeful time.
Trees
Our house is surrounded by enormous white pines. Every once in a while, during a storm one of them falls down. Before I became a homeowner I used to love violent weather. Wind, lightening, heavy rains…the more the better. Waking up in the middle of the night with the wind is blowing like crazy isn’t so much fun when you are waiting to hear a loud crack and hoping that an eighty year old tree doesn’t land on your head. When our neighbor Ken decided to have a few of the larger pines around his house taken down, it seemed like a good idea to join in. We began talking to Leon and Shay this summer, and they encouraged us to wait until the winter to have the work done. They showed up Wednesday morning with a giant crane, a chipper, a tractor and lots of chain saws.
These are huge trees. I got no work done over the last two days, watching these guys work to take them down. Shay would clip his climbing harness into the ball of the crane, be raised three quarters of the way up the tree and attach one of these yellow chains to the trunk. He would then rappel down to about 50 feet off the ground and make a cut. The crane would support the weight of the tree and move it over the house to the driveway where it would be dragged to the street.
It is always interesting to watch people who are very good at what they do, and who seem to have lots of fun in the process. Shay was a rock climber when he was younger, and seems to be most comfortable flying around in the air. The crane guy told me that of all the tree climbers he worked with, Shay was at the top of the list.
What a great bunch of guys.
Tulips
I made oatmeal for breakfast yesterday, and while we were eating I looked up and for the first time saw the tulips Cris had bought earlier in the week. I am mostly shocked by my inability to see the things that are right in front of me. I have figured out that one of the reasons that I am a photographer is that I don’t see objects unless I see them as photographs in my mind’s eye. It can take me forever to find the GrapeNuts in the cereal aisle or to find the corn starch container in the pantry. I usually have to call Cris for help, and she spots whatever I am looking for right away. It was frustrating when I was younger, and I actually saw it as a disability, but lately I have come to embrace it in an odd kind of way.
Butterfly
Because of the color, I thought this was a Monarch, but when he (or she) alit I realized it wasn’t. Lovely weather down here on the island. I’m off for a walk on the beach.
Honey
Cris really likes honey in her tea in the mornings. Usually we buy the cheap organic stuff at Trader Joe’s, which is pretty good, but this stall at the Ithaca Farmer’s Market had a really nice selection of flavors. The guy selling it said that the wildflower variety would be good in her Earl Gray, so I bought a 2 lb. jar.
Acorns
When I was growing up in Meadville, there were tons of oak trees. In the fall the acorns would start dropping and be everywhere. Sometimes we would fill our pockets full and inevitably someone would start throwing them,which would lead to some massive neighborhood battles. One day Don Blackmar’s father got involved in the effort, and since he was the only adult, just about everyone started heaving them at him. He got really pissed and took it to a level way beyond parental discretion. It was unusual to see a parent go over so far over the edge in what was mostly just a benign game. I never felt the same about him after that.
Purple Loosestrife
“Hey, purple stuff”! A while back, Cris and I started seeing this plant near wetlands as we were driving around the Northeast. It was often near highways and at first we really liked seeing it. At some point I read an article about how it is a very invasive plant called Purple Loosestrife that rapidly spreads and is taking over wetlands at a scary rate. Cris had a hard time remembering the name, so it became a bit of a joke with us. We’d be in the car and the first to see it would call out “Hey, Purple Stuff”. (Akin to our “THERE”S the sewage treatment plant”.) Anyway, Peter and the Pearl and I were walking today and there was tons of it near the UMASS football field. It was very windy and beautiful, and I liked how the goldenrod looked next to it.
Fungi
Cris and I were walking in Northampton today and I saw the fungus on the left growing on a tree. It was about 9 feet off the ground so I guessed at the framing. Just missed the right side. As I was taking the picture, a woman driving by got our attention and said there was a bigger one on Olive Street. So we drove over and saw the one on the right. I like the first one a bit better, but the one on Olive is huge.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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